Atlanta, a city commonly recognized as a haven for artistic talent, has become an incubator for countless musicians, including a rising star, Ponder.
She recalls a pivotal meeting with a legendary rapper that transformed her understanding of her career path.
“He had so many inspiring things to say,” Ponder reflects.
“It just became so clear to me. This is the moment. There’s nothing to stick around for. I felt pretty confident that something was going to happen.”
Her intuition about the impending opportunity was correct.
Within a year, Ponder had signed with Future Classic record label and made her television performance debut on “Late Night with Seth Meyers.”
Last year, she took a significant step forward in her career by relocating from her hometown to Stone Mountain, just outside of Atlanta, in hopes of further advancing her singing career.
“I’ve been in a lot of spaces where I’m the only Black person.
For me, Atlanta presented an opportunity to be in the arts but to also be surrounded by Black culture, and that was something that really drew me here,” she explains.
At 43 years old, Ponder is among countless artists who have relocated to Atlanta, long recognized as a creative hub.
A 2022 report highlighted that Atlanta boasts the highest number of talent and creative outlets per capita in the United States, a statistic proudly cited by Mayor Andre Dickens.
With more than 130 recording studios and numerous rehearsal spaces, performance venues, and music organizations, Atlanta actively encourages creativity and facilitates opportunities for artists.
The city has a reputation for producing global superstars, exemplified by Outkast’s upcoming induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Killer Mike’s impressive sweep at the 2024 Grammys.
Usher also significantly impacted the world’s perception of Atlanta during his legendary Super Bowl halftime performance, one of the most-watched in history.
DJ Big X asserts that Atlanta’s music scene has been thriving long before major record labels established their presence in the city.
He acknowledges the contributions of indie labels and local artists that laid the groundwork for Atlanta’s current status.
“When you start the history at LaFace, you discredit everything that happened in Atlanta before that,” Big X argues.
He emphasizes the importance of artists such as Peabo Bryson, Mother’s Finest, and the S.O.S. Band, stating that the city has always been abundant with talent.
Big X, who has extensive experience as a talent manager and producer, recalls the vibrant music environment of the 1970s and 1980s when he would tune into WIGO and WAOK to catch the latest Black musicians emerging from Atlanta.
He reminisces about venues like Shyran’s Showcase, where he DJed as a young man, and where live performances by aspiring rappers and singers were commonplace.
Divinity Roxx, another Atlanta native, shares her memories from the 1980s and 1990s, recalling her experiences competing in rap battles and showcasing her talent at open mics surrounded by executives and burgeoning artists alike.
“I did this talent show,” Roxx remembers, noting that Usher had won the previous week’s competition.
She soon found herself opening for notable acts such as De La Soul and The Roots.
For many local artists, Atlanta provides an encouraging community where Black musicians can freely express themselves and connect with others who share similar passions.
“Atlanta was always built on that,” Big X insists.
Despite the city’s fame as a cultural melting pot, Ponder admits that it wasn’t always on her radar.
As a pastor’s daughter, secular music was stigmatized, but she grew up with music ingrained in her family life.
Each Sunday, she would witness her father sing and play the piano in church, and the passion for music sparked within her.
By her teenage years, Ponder had become the lead singer in her family’s band.
However, a traumatic experience struck when her brother received a 20-year prison sentence due to New York’s three-strikes law stemming from a bar robbery.
“It was just so shocking. Even now, when I tell people, they think it was a murder. They think it was something really egregious,” she reflects.
Witnessing her brother’s fate profoundly influenced Ponder’s life trajectory, leading her to enroll in law school in 2008 to advocate for families like hers.
As a public defender, she managed an overwhelming caseload of up to 50 cases daily, mostly involving minor offenses.
One case highlighted the absurdity of the system: a 16-year-old was arrested for not having a bell on their bike and was forced to spend a night in jail.
Even amidst her demanding legal career, Ponder never ceased singing, often incorporating her experiences with the justice system into her music.
She continued performing in bands across Georgia and even Europe, taking advantage of any paid time off to pursue her passion for music.
Ponder attempted to leave her law career more rapidly; however, the COVID-19 pandemic restricted performance opportunities, prompting her return to legal work.
Fortunately, the lockdown inadvertently allowed her the time to build relationships with executives and artists in the music industry.
When her music reached Q-Tip, she had already established valuable connections.
Deciding to follow her brothers to Atlanta, Ponder recognized the city as a place where her music career could flourish.
“My brothers moved down and said, ‘Atlanta people will support you.’
My family being here was a big piece of it, but I think also I wanted culture to be centered,” she recounts.
Roxx’s journey contrasts with Ponder’s; she left Atlanta almost a decade ago, feeling that the city was becoming creatively stifling.
As a genre-blending artist, Roxx needed the freedom to explore her creativity more fully and found that in a new location, just a train ride away from New York City.
After years of world tours with artists like Victor Wooten and Beyoncé, she returned home, only to feel out of place in an environment that had shifted significantly.
“Atlanta started to feel stifling,” she admits.
“I needed to be free musically to create whatever I wanted.”
While she embraces hip-hop as an integral part of her identity, Roxx observed that the music landscape had shifted towards mainstream rap.
She attributes this transition partly to the departure of LaFace Records, which was instrumental in launching the careers of artists like TLC and Outkast during the 1990s.
Roxx believes that the exit of LaFace affected Atlanta’s overall music infrastructure, driving a trend away from experimental and fusion genres towards a more singular focus on rap.
As a result, many homegrown talents have pursued opportunities elsewhere.
Celeste Debro, a music supervisor at Tyler Perry Studios who moved to Atlanta from Nashville in the early 2010s, has witnessed this phenomenon firsthand.
Debro notes the continual movement of artists who build their skills in Atlanta only to leave for greater prospects in places like Los Angeles.
“Across the board, there are artists who have been here, cut their chops, and left,” she remarks.
Despite the movement of talent, Big X focuses on creating opportunities within the city through initiatives like New Music Mondays, a platform designed for independent artists to gain visibility.
Each week, this showcase at Stankonia Studios allows emerging artists to receive constructive feedback from influential DJs in Atlanta’s music scene.
Notable figures often drop by, making surprise appearances to connect with new talent.
Coalition DJs co-founded New Music Mondays to solidify networks that reach beyond typical music channels, including clubs and lounges.
According to Big X, the success of an artist hinges on broad audience appeal.
“The people got to like it. The girls got to like it. The bartender got to like it. The hookah girl got to like it,” he explains.
In addition to performing, Big X is working on tech innovations aimed at aiding artists in uploading and selling their records online for increased visibility.
Debro is also proactive in expanding opportunities for artists through her new venture, FRSH WAV, which supports talent in licensing their music for various media projects.
She passionately expresses her desire to reshape the narrative around the Atlanta music scene.
“It’s too much opportunity. It’s a blank slate. It is the wet paint. It’s Harlem in the 1920s. You can literally build what you want,” she declares.
Support is also emerging from legislative levels; Senator Sonya Halpern has introduced Senate Bill 182, proposing the establishment of a Georgia Music Office.
This office aims to foster music production, attract investment, and offer workforce development opportunities, mirroring the success of the Georgia Film Office.
Lawmakers believe that enhancing the presence of music businesses and talent agencies within the state could yield significant benefits, much like the film industry has achieved.
“The bottom line: Music is economic development,” Senator Halpern asserted during discussions around the bill.
“Georgia has the talent, the history, and the momentum, and we cannot afford to fall behind other states that are already investing in their music industries.”
Ponder’s place within Atlanta’s vibrant music scene is still developing, as she reflects on her journey thus far.
Although she acknowledges that it is early to gauge the impact of her relocation, there has already been a noteworthy celebration of accomplishments in her career.
She recently lent her voice to Apple’s iPhone 16 campaign and created the theme song for the Apple TV+ series “Manhunt.”
She has also begun to make her mark on the festival circuit, having participated in events such as Atlanta’s ONE Musicfest.
Currently, Ponder is hard at work on the follow-up to her debut album, “Some Of Us Are Brave,” which is being partially recorded in Atlanta.
During her tour stop in Atlanta with Grammy winner Gary Clark Jr., she openly acknowledged the unpleasant history associated with Stone Mountain.
“That wasn’t great to find out,” she shared during her performance, expressing surprise at learning about its past linked to racism.
However, she emphasized the vibrant Black community that exists in the area today.
“I love coming out to my very Black neighborhood,” she exclaimed.
Reflecting on her experience as the only Black attorney in her workplace in the past, Ponder finds fulfillment in the predominantly Black environment of her current community.
“Even something as small as visiting my dentist’s office, where everybody who works there is Black, I’ve never experienced that in 40-something years,” she said.
For Ponder, these experiences validate her decision to move to Atlanta.
While she aspires to achieve prestigious accolades like Grammy recognition, she emphasizes her current contentment.
“I do music full-time, and I can pay my bills and then some.
That is all I need,” she affirms.
As she continues to navigate her path, Ponder is conscious of the many possibilities and aspirations she holds.
“I can be all of those things, and if I’m never any of those things, I’m very content where I am,” she concludes.
image source from：ajc
